The farmers in Tapaz, Capiz raise native chickens to support their livelihood through backyard-scale poultry. Despite the advancement and modern equipment brought by technology, farmer-growers are still hampered to further organize their system and optimize more economic benefits.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Region VI through its Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST) program assists the barangays of Tacayan, Katipunan, and Lahug in Tapaz, Capiz.
The technical support will include the upgrading of their farming methods and improving the supply, product quality, and marketability.
Thirty native chicken growers will be capacitated with a starter module compromising technology training on growing native chicken such as government recommended breed, nutrition, prophylaxis and diseases management, and overall husbandry skills.
Communities will also be established with a consolidator and processor entity given that they are on an individual basis and scattered in remote areas resulting in difficulty of undertaking the processes.
The consolidator or processor entity will be an independent enterprise, owned, and operated by the association of farmer-growers themselves. Moreover, it must be situated in the most economically strategic location to be identified by the DOST Region VI, the local government unit of Tapaz, and the target beneficiaries.
A new native chicken production technology will also be introduced where personnel will be trained on good manufacturing practices and food safety.
Meanwhile, appeasing to the department’s vision to encourage great minds to develop new ideas that might help their community in establishing a sustainable livelihood through science and technology, three STARBOOKS or Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly Operated Kiosk will be made available to the communities.
The STARBOOKS will include printers and desktop computers loaded with thousands of digitized science and technology resources gathered from all around the world.
With a fund assistance of Php1,454,198.40, a Memorandum of Agreement was recently signed between Tapaz Mayor, Hon. Roberto O. Palomar and OIC Capiz Provincial Science and Technology Director, Science Research Specialist II Juafe M. Abareles on behalf of DOST VI. (JJMoleño/SSalazar/DOST VI-KMU)
